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See Research StudiesIn the last ten years, smartphones have become ubiquitous, giving the consumer an HD camera to chronicle nearly every aspect of their lives.
In a special circumstance – such as a vacation or birthday – the urge to capture everything is enhanced. And after a post or two to social, the images are never really seen or shared again.
As time passes, and these memories get buried deeper every day, the questions arise: Where are they now? How do I find them? Which phone are they on? These thoughts race through all of our heads, with no answer in sight. Until now.
Former Happy Madison Productions Partner, Jack Giarraputo and Ryan Hegenberger, founder of Big Picture Entertainment, have innovated a revolutionary solution. The personal editor. Just as they do for Hollywood studios, the pair now takes your camera roll footage and turns it into a mini movie – starring you.
The pair recently sat down with us while visiting New York. “We give you the same treatment that we give to Hollywood stars, complete with music, on-screen graphics and voice over from “the movie trailer guy”, says Hegenberger, “it’s really fun.”
The company is called UrLife.
“The plan is to enable the consumer to curate a digital museum on their life,” says Giarraputo. “They can have a retrievable and watchable video of every event and holiday since the smartphone existed. It’s like a table of contents of your personal history. You can go back and relive the moment because of the way it’s told. [The video] gives so much context to the time, you feel like you’re there.”
“Back in the 80’s you had never heard of a personal trainer. Now some people spend 15,000 a year on them or more. I think we will look back 5 years from now and say, of course, the personal editor. What else were we going to do with all that footage?” says Hegenberger
UrLife Media is not for everyone, cautions Giarraputo. “We have a high-end market because we have a personal editor that spends about 10-15 hours working on each video. It’s not the typical robot algorithm or Do-It-Yourself iMovie. It’s for people who can make more money working than staying at home and spending 40 hours to do it themselves.”
The company, expanding from LA to NYC, is broadening its client base to the B2B side as well. “Anyone who offers an amazing experience for their customers, now can also provide them with the means to properly document it,” says Hegenberger. Their first hotel partner is Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego. “Some hotels offer a personal butler. It sounds cool but what do they really do? The concierge can do the same thing. The hotel Del is innovating on the idea of personal service and offering guests a personal editor. “In ten years I promise you it will be much more memorable than the butler, ” says Giarraputo.
They also recently partnered with NFL On Location (http://nflonlocation.com/) to help fans participating in VIP experiences at the NFL draft to truly capture the unparalleled memories that emerged from this opportunity. UrLife hopes to take the digital memories from the NFL’s many events and create a cinematic experience that will be cherished (and shared) forever.
The B2B side is an exciting growth effort for the company, and the conversations have exploded into the tropical resort and wedding industries as well. The businesses are recognizing that UrLife is the premium way to document their customer’s life.
When it comes to talent acquisition, UrLife has a dual focus. They have a high-quality product which means that the editors and creatives need to have high-quality, movie trailer making experience. But there is more than just Hollywood in the mix. The business is trying to attract tech superstars and leaders with innovative and strategic minds. “Our strength is the end product. We know how to make the customer happy with a fun story of their event. What we don’t know is the whole silicon valley part of this. But we are learning fast.”
The guys would love for you to give it a try. They have a promo code IVYEXEC25 for a 25 percent discount which is good all summer.
Ivy Exec is pleased to announce that nominations are now open for our upcoming list of 2016 Fast Growing Tech/Digital Companies to Know. UrLife is just an example of the type of companies we are looking to include in our list – great leadership, disrupting the industry, and positive revenue growth. If you believe your Tech Company is worthy of a spot on our list, nominate your company for consideration by filling out the survey below and we’ll get in touch with the next steps.
Sara Farkas
Sara Farkas is a Director at Ivy Exec, in New York. Helping to drive Ivy Exec’s mission to be a partner and trusted advisor to our clients, Sara leads our Global team in consulting on recruiting, compensation analysis, and industry intelligence. Focusing on the Company’s Consulting and Financial Services clients, Sara advises on searches that range from mid-level to c-suite/partner level.